An Exercise in Understanding Bella
by soveryunpretty
Summary: AU When tragedy befalls the kite of a seven year old Edward, it's Bella Swan to the rescue. Without vampires, it’s finally our heroine's turn to play Superman... or at least give it her best shot. EdwardxBella All human


**Hey guys, this is a little one shot I thought of when I had one of my bouts of writer's block. Edward is human and living with his biological parents. He and Bella are seven years old, and Bella is on one of her summer trips to visit her father. Enjoy! **

_Edward's Point of View_

My head arched back as I gazed up at the streak of red lodged between the tree's branches. My hair stuck to the beads of sweat on my forehead and I tried to push them away furiously with my fist, looking for a way to get the imprisoned kite back. With the spool of white string still clutched in my left hand, I tugged, trying to dislodge it. I grabbed with both hands and leaned back on the heels of me feet, all of my weight settled back trying to pull the kite free only for the string to snap.

I fell on my behind hard with a grunt and glared hatefully at the severed string and spool in my hand, then to the red kite still stuck in the tree. I let out a pathetic groan and fell back into the wet grass, knowing my mom would yell at me for losing another kite anyways. No use keeping my clothes clean and dry now. I wondered again why there had to be so many stupid trees in Forks.

I had just moved here about a year ago, but I still felt isolated. I had friends at school, but none I would come to with advice or problems, and even amiss their lighthearted jokes and banter, I felt out of place. Misunderstood. The feeling bothered me more than anyone would ever know. I was content as myself and had no reason to complain. My parents were loving and supportive, and I wasn't an angsty kid. I felt normal, but different.

I never let it bother me much, but I just wondered when I would get used to Forks like my parents kept telling me. They had told me I would be able to run around in Forks and not have to worry about the dangers that lingered in Chicago because of it's size and urban setting, but I knew it was for my dad's job. I didn't hold it against him at all, just this town.

I let out a deep sigh and turned on my side when I saw her. It was a girl who looked about my age, with long brown hair tied back in two pigtails with a stretch of blue ribbon. On her back she had on a clear plastic backpack, allowing me to see that it was heavy with books I would have no hope of reading. Her feet were bare, and he had scrapes and scars on her knees. What caught my attention though, were her big brown eyes trained on my kite.

She turned my way and blushed to see that I was watching her. Her eyes were chocolate brown like her hair, and I could see her long dark lashes even through the distance. She waved and gave me a wide smile, making a flush of pink cross my own cheeks. She shed her bag and dropped it to the ground with her abandoned shoes I hadn't noticed before, then with an expression of determination, she marched to the tree.

I sat up and watched in awe as she reached for the lowest branch and braced one bare foot on the trunk of the tree. She found a place in the bark to step and hoisted herself up, slowly but surely advancing into the layer of green leaves. I watched as she continued to climb, my brow creasing in worry. The tree was way too tall for her to climb, but she seemed so brave in her advancements.

She finally reached the patch of red amiss the green, and linked her arm around the branch, rising up on her toes to get higher as she untangled the red fabric from the mess of branches and clutched it tightly in her fingers. She turned to me and I saw a triumphant smile from the distance, before her expression wavered.

Her right foot slid out from under her and her mouth opened in a silent gasp as she slid from the supporting branch, tumbling to the ground with a hard thud and a sharp snap. I stared in horror; frozen as I watched her face crumble in pain and a scream erupt from her throat. Her left arm looked like it had been twisted under her in her fall.

"Bella!" A woman cried from behind me loudly. The woman ran to the girl and pulled her up from the ground, wincing as the girl cried from touching her arm. "Oh gosh, it's broken. Someone call 911!" I winced as she said the words. This was my fault; I should've stopped the girl from trying to climb the tree. I guess I was just struck by how heroic she looked until she slipped.

I couldn't believe she had actually climbed a tree to get my kite. I had never seen her before in my life, so why would she risk herself in helping a stranger? I couldn't tell if she was selfless or just had no sense of self preservation.

"Let's get you to a hospital, honey. Really what were you thinking Bella? We have to leave to make it to the airport on time in fifteen minutes!" her mom cried hysterically. Her hands were fluttering about frantically looking for a way to either comfort her daughter or reassure herself. Her hair was flying about with her quick movements, her eyes wide and slowly turning glossy with unshed tears of panic.

"Mom!" the girl Bella cried, holding out her uninjured arm in a sign to calm down. Tears were dripping slowly down her chin as she held the injured limb close to her chest. "I'm fine; I don't need an ambulance, just calm down." She gave her a shaky smile of reassurance.

I watched her in awe as she soothed her mother as though it had been her who had fallen out of a very tall tree. Other than the steady stream of tears from her eyes and her attention to the broken arm, you'd swear nothing had happened, while her mom looked like she was being chased by a hoard of bees. I saw a streak of red in the grass and felt my eyes widen.

At first I thought that she was bleeding, but that would be silly knowing I wouldn't be able to see it in the grass from this distance. A gasp of realization escaped from my lips. This girl was completely incredible.

Even while falling out of a tree, she got my kite.

"Oh your father is going to have a field day with this! I haven't even gotten you on the plane to go home and you're already hurt. Bella sweetie you have to be more careful, I could've lost you!" Bella rolled her eyes in amused tolerance before swiping the kite from the ground and leaving her mother's side.

I was so enraptured by her that I hadn't even noticed she was making her way over to me. I immediately tensed and my knees felt wobbly. I don't know what made me feel so intimidated by her, but I felt jittery in her presence. Her mom was still pacing furiously and hadn't even noticed that she was no longer beside her. Bella finally reached me after nearly tripping once and held my kite out to me in offering.

"I'm sorry I ripped your kite." She mumbled nervously, a blush spreading across her cheeks as she smiled at me sheepishly, causing my own face to heat up in response. She was so _pretty_. I stared at her, unable to form words while she squirmed under my gaze, just like I was under hers. We averted our eyes at the same time before she finally dropped the kite to the ground at my feet.

She hurried away to her disposed shoes and bag. Now that I was released from the influence of her big brown eyes, I wondered why I couldn't say anything. She probably thought I was an idiot. This girl just climbed a tree to get my kite, breaking her arm in the process and I couldn't even stutter out a thanks? Her mother finally seemed to realize that her daughter was long gone and returned to Bella's side.

The woman was muttering incoherently still, something about not remembering where she parked. Bella wiped at her wet cheeks with her fist stubbornly before giving her mom another smile and grabbing her arm and pulling her away.

"It's in the second row mom, come on, I'll show you." With a last wave in my direction from Bella, they were off towards the parking lot. I watched as they left, straining my ears to hear any bit of information. I caught a bit from Bella about calling the airport to get a refund on their tickets before their voices faded to nothing.

I watched as they climbed into their car, Bella staying careful with her arm, hissing in pain once as the seatbelt touched it before they drove off into the distance. Even after they were gone I watched the road for minutes before I heard my mom calling out my name to leave.

I grabbed my kite from the ground between my feet and held it up in both hands. On the fabric near the tail, was a tiny rip. It was so small I wouldn't have noticed without looking close, and I was only looking because Bella had said something about it.

Thinking her name made another patch of pink rise to my cheeks and my eyes returned to the street she disappeared down. A slow, goofy grin spread across my face despite the fight my lips put.

What a sucker I was. All she did was save my kite and I fell in love with a girl I had never met before named Bella.

"Edward, let's go! I need to pick up some groceries before dinner. Edward Anthony Masen, were you rolling around in this grass or something? You look filthy." I turned to my mother, her bronze hair blowing lightly in the wind and nodded absently. I looked at the kite in my hands again and held it to my chest.

I was really glad Bella missed her plane.

* * *

**Haha, I just wanted to have a short little story showing off some of the characters' more interesting traits. Bella and her bravery, lack of self preservation, selflessness, clumsiness and responsibilty. Edward and his tendency to blame himself for anything that happens to Bella, and Renee and her... flighty personality.**

**It was supposed to be a one shot, but review and tell me what you think and if you'd like for me to continue. Note that if I do continue, I can't start until I finish at least one of my other stories. Also if you have any suggestions or questions, I'd love to hear them.**


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